TeaForum.org

LeoFox wrote: ↑

Mon May 10, 2021 6:14 pm

Maybe mbanu can address this: why is it that men in general seem to dislike floral teas - and esp any kind of tea that has been "scented"? Often it is not just dislike but looking down on the item, as if liking it suggests something negative about the person who can like it (esp if that person is a man).

In my case, part of the reason is I generally do not appreciate overpowering, single-dimensional aromas, flowery or otherwise. That is a a preference, not a judgement.

Artificial floral aromas are used a lot in perfumed household items and products : it is also possible that I associate strong flowery aromas to these products even if they are natural, due to this mental, pejorative association.

Is it possible that the fact flowers are often associated with the feminine (around here, anyway) plays a part in my appreciation of flowery teas? Yes, of course. Rest assured, though, that I think no less of people who like them, just as I do not love the ladies of the house any less because they like jasmine tea...

LeoFox wrote: ↑

Mon May 10, 2021 6:14 pm

faj wrote: ↑

Mon May 10, 2021 5:38 pm

The ladies in the house like it 

Maybe mbanu can address this: why is it that men in general seem to dislike floral teas - and esp any kind of tea that has been "scented"? Often it is not just dislike but looking down on the item, as if liking it suggests something negative about the person who can like it (esp if that person is a man).

Even my dad is snickering that I am drinking more jasmine tea.

For the United States, I think it is because floral teas are the tea of choice for the dominant hot tea-culture, and in the U.S. this culture is still very gendered. So men who participate sometimes are tempted to define their tastes against this. Originally this was done with Lapsang Souchong, which is also a scented tea, but one that in the U.S. was associated with men, due to cultural connotations regarding smoke and endorsements from famous American men such as Teddy Roosevelt or the banker J.P. Morgan.

I'm not sure that I understand British tea choices well enough to say anything there, other than that tea-choices seem to split along social class more than gender lines. (One thing I would be really curious about but am not sure has been looked at is how the perception of Earl Grey tea changed in America from before and after it being featured as the favorite tea of the male lead on the popular TV show Star Trek.)

In a more general way, I wonder if part of it is also who talks about tea online... Whenever people mention jasmine tea in China, it always seems to be "Northerners drink this tea" rather than, "I, a Northerner, drink this tea." There are also types of flavored tea that are not even mentioned as an other, like the Babao "Eight Treasure" tea that, at least according to books on the subject, is popular in Hunan. It's not even people commenting, "Oh, they put garbage in their tea in Hunan", it is just not mentioned at all. So you have a sort of one-sided narrative shaping what the geography of the tea-world looks like.

Sometimes I think this may be due to language barriers. Most people would not realize that jasmine tea is a known type of tea in West Africa, for instance, because the West African drinkers of this tea don't seem to post on the English-language internet very often.

Thank you @mbanu very thorough as always! I remember when I was a kid in China, 8 treasures tea was considered very healthful and not looked down on.. though also not exactly considered as a "tea". Incidentally, the only person in my family who drinks jasmine tea religiously is one of my aunts from the south. In contrast, my beijing family members only drink jasmine when they have guests. Mostly they also prefer... Long jing

I would agree that I think gender stereotypes play a big role here. I really don't like floral characteristic teas generally, but I also find the smell of strong garden type flowers off-putting, so its no surprise then I guess that I like liu bao and shu with its more forest floor typical notes. Interestingly though I do really like jasmine, and I think it pairs with fermented tea flavors really well and I wish I saw more of that. I have some three cranes jasmine liu bao I really like a lot even if it is very different, and I can see jasmine going really well with shu. Unfortunately for pu erh though I only really ever see things like glutinous rice scent, and its almost always the most undrinkable compressed dust pu.

This bizen still doing pretty good with jasmine

LeoFox wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 12, 2021 6:51 am

This bizen still doing pretty good with jasmine

But how do you not burn your lips with an enamel mug?

Bok wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 12, 2021 7:06 am

LeoFox wrote: ↑

Mon Jul 12, 2021 6:51 am

This bizen still doing pretty good with jasmine

But how do you not burn your lips with an enamel mug?

I wait until tea cools down hahaha while doing morning chores.